Napoli came very close to advancing into
the knockout stages when they beat the Gunners 2-0 but for Borussia Dortmund
beating Marseille 2-1 in the section’s other match, which saw the Bundesliga
side clinch top spot and Arsenal advance on a better head-to-head in second
place.

Disappointing though it was, Rafa Benitez
and his side must regroup and refocus their attention on domestic action – no
sense in crying over spilt milk, so they say – as they have an important tilt
against Internazionale at the weekend.

Napoli, currently third in the table on the
back of a 10-2-3 record and 32 points, are eight points adrift of Juventus and
five points behind Roma. They can’t afford to slip further behind in the title
race otherwise the gap will prove too big to overcome. As it stands they are
already a long shot at +1000 to win Serie A this season at Bet365.

What’s more, home form has paid dividends
for Napoli where they are 5-2-1 to date, 4-1-1 in their last six – the lone
defeat coming to Parma on November 23. That it was three days before a crucial
Champions League date with Borussia Dortmund surely had a hand in Benitez’s
game-time decisions, which probably cost them against Parma and earned them
their first home defeat. Little did it help, though, as Napoli went on to a 3-1
defeat in Germany and, immediately afterwards, settled on a 3-3 draw to
Udinese.

Internazionale
on good form

Internazionale are sat in fourth place with
a 7-7-1 record through 15 laps and 28 points. A win over Napoli will not
advance their placement but it will go towards closing the gap on their
Southern rivals.

Inter have been solid this season and not
unlike league leaders Juventus they boast just one defeat on the season as a
whole. The difference between Inter and Juventus, which correlates to the
12-point gap between the pair, is their win-to-draw ratio – Inter have paid the
price for too many draws this season.

Still Inter are unbeaten on the road with a
3-4-0 record and they’ll be looking to extend that mark against Napoli this
weekend despite the odds that list them
at +300 soccer odds to win outright or therein depending on the sportsbooks of
choice. And when Napoli are stuttering across all competitions, the strain
of too many campaigns catching up to them and recent disappointment clearly
evident, don’t Inter have a prime opportunity to clinch a road win.

Soccer
Betting Verdict: Napoli are listed as the firm
favourites to win outright but given their exodus from Champions League, the
hangover might be too great to overcome before Sunday. This gives Inter wiggle
room on the win in our opinion and that’s why we’re banking on their tempting
odds to win outright on the road at +300
at Bet365. As well given both teams frees-coring ways, we also recommend adding the Over 2.5 at -125 to your soccer picks in this battle.